NFL Recap: Week 13

The Elite
1. New Orleans Saints
2. Indianapolis Colts
3. Minnesota Vikings

And then there were three. With the Saints thoroughly dismantling the Patriots on Monday night, they knock the Patriots out of the league's elite. They exposed every weakness the Patriots have. Their defense could do nothing in that environment, much as they have done all year on the road. Tom Brady looked flustered and made several poor decisions. Bill Belichick isn't using proper football sense anymore; he may have lost his mind. The Patriots fall out of the top tier.

On the other side, the Saints firmly cemented their place at the top. They are going undefeated if they want to. I can't see anyone beating this team at full strength. Their toughest test is Dallas, but Dallas is notorious for struggling in December, plus the game is in New Orleans. The Saints shouldn't have trouble with the Cowboys. I can't see a single team knocking them off in the regular season.

The Colts looked shaky in the first half of their game with the Texans, but they were never rattled. They came back strong, as Peyton Manning continues his MVP campaign and won the game rather easily. They can not do this against the Titans if they expect to remain undefeated, but more on that later.

The Vikings move into third place by beating up the bad news Bears. Brett Favre continues to disprove the doubters (myself included) by not throwing his trademark interceptions. Can the over-40 QB continue this for nine more weeks? Time will tell. Tough test with Arizona coming up this week.

The Contenders
4. San Diego Chargers
5. New England Patriots
6. Cincinnati Bengals
7. Green Bay Packers
8. Dallas Cowboys
9. Tennessee Titans
10. Arizona Cardinals
11. Baltimore Ravens
12. Pittsburgh Steelers
13. Philadelphia Eagles
14. Denver Broncos

The Chargers move into the four slot with another outstanding performance. They are one of the most dangerous offenses in football now that LT is actually giving them something. They are very close to joining the big three with how they are playing. They can hang with anyone in football, even if this was against the lowly Chiefs.

Two games took place between teams in this tier, the first of which being the Titans vs. the Cardinals. With Kurt Warner out, the Cardinals turned to Matt Leinart to lead them to victory against Vince Young and the surging Titans. In a game that mirrored the 2006 Rose Bowl, Vince Young once again led his team down the field for the game winning score. This was probably the most excited I have been while watching a football game in my lifetime. I was jumping, screaming, high-fiving. It was awesome. This is the type of thing that can take an already inspired team to another level. There is no denying the skill and leadership it takes to drive a team 99 yards down the field to win a game. Vince is a leader. Chris Johnson is a superstar and Kenny Britt doesn't get enough love amongst the good rookie wide-outs. He should after that game winning catch. This is the one team (other than the Saints, of course) that no one should want to see on their schedule. They are on a mission for 10-6. They are well coached, their defense is playing like an entirely different team than they were 6 weeks ago. They are going to take down the Colts this weekend. They need this game so much more, and the Colts almost act as if a loss would be good for them with the way they rest their starters, and who knows it might be. They get that loss this week. I am loving the second coming of the Vince Young era!

The other game between Contenders this week was between the Ravens and the Steelers. Baltimore pulled it out but they weren't all that impressive, which is why each remains toward the bottom of the tier, and the Titans leap them. Granted, Pittsburgh was without its most valuable player, but back-up QB Dennis Dixon actually played a very good game against the Ravens, until the interception in overtime of course. It was a close, fun game to watch, but I can't see these teams going very far in the playoffs, if either team even makes them.

I give the Broncos credit for looking impressive against the Giants and I bump them back into the second tier. Do I think they have a great team? No, I really don't. But they are 7-4 and they have a very easy schedule the rest of the way, so it looks very likely that they find their way into the playoffs to be eliminated in the first round, which means they have to be here, despite their shortcomings.

The Mid-Pack
15. Atlanta Falcons
16. San Francisco 49ers
17. New York Jets
18. Houston Texans
19. Jacksonville Jaguars
20. Miami Dolphins
21. New York Giants
22. Carolina Panthers
23. Washington Redskins
24. Chicago Bears

These teams disgust me. So much wasted talent amongst this group. They are all so mediocre it's nearly impossible to rank them. All they have to do is win their game to rise to the top. The Jets move from the bottom of the tier all the way up to third, because just about everyone else lost. The Dolphins lost a game they absolutely should have won against the Bills, do they take a big tumble. I almost dropped the Bears out of the tier altogether, because they looked dreadful and have for weeks now. The Redskins are the new addition to the Mid-Pack, after playing well against good teams for a few weeks now. They don't always win, but they have played tough, which seems to happen a lot with these mediocre squads. They are no longer members of the Awful. Congratulations Skins fans. The 49ers beat fellow Mid-Packer Jacksonville very soundly, so they jump up to number 16. I'm sure they are thrilled.

Did I mention these teams disgust me?

The Awful
25. Buffalo Bills
26. Seattle Seahawks
27. Oakland Raiders
28. Kansas City Chiefs
29. Detroit Lions
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
31. St. Louis Rams
32. Cleveland Browns

In the battle for who gets the number one pick, the Browns lead. Three teams still have just one win, and wouldn't you know they are three of the four teams I said would finish with one win. Will the Buccaneers, Rams or Browns win again and prove me wrong, like the Raiders already did? Time, my friends, will tell. Again, if your team falls here, I sympathize, my team was here a mere five weeks ago. Good luck in the draft and better luck next year.

As for the Thursday night game, the Jets are favored by three points, and I like them to beat the Bills in Toronto. The Jets will run the ball all night on the Bills, who have proven they can't stop it. Revis locks down TO and the Bills prove why they are still a tier behind the Jets.

Jets (-3) over BILLS